Every exit
Garden Gate, Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia 2005
“Every exit is an entry somewhere else.” — Tom Stoppard
Sometimes a painful change can be eased by choosing to have faith that good things may lie ahead. Perhaps we can re-frame a forced or unwanted exit — from a job, a relationship or any phase of life — as the beginning of a new direction. If we focus on the discovery of hidden possibilities, we will face the future with optimism instead of dread.
Primitive purity
A cozy cabin room at a northern California bed and breakfast inn, 2003
“How has it come about that we use the highly emotive word ‘stagnation,’ with all its malodorous and malarial overtones, for what other ages would have called ‘permanence?’ Why does the word ‘primitive’ at once suggest to us clumsiness, inefficiency, barbarity? When our ancestors talked of the primitive church or the primitive purity of our constitution they meant nothing of that sort…”
— C. S. Lewis
It’s mistake to romanticize the past, but it is equally erroneous to assume that new is always better. Although the word “primitive” has taken on the negative connotations Lewis mentions, it also implies simplicity and freedom from complexity. In today’s world, perhaps these are traits we would do well to reclaim whenever possible. What areas of life have grown too complicated? How can we untangle ourselves from needless involvement with too many details?
Free to go very slow
Our box turtle pays a visit in June, 2005
“There’s absolutely no reason for being rushed along with the rush. Everybody should be free to go very slow.” — Robert Frost
A box turtle couple has lived in the wooded lot behind our yard for all the years we have been there. We have never seen them together, but the brightly colored male or his mate occasionally appears at different spots in our yard, and we have seen the female laying eggs near our picket fence. We also see some delightfully tiny baby turtles from time to time. Often when I spot one of the turtles, I’ll run inside to get my camera. I am always amazed at how much ground they cover during the brief moments I’m gone. Sometimes they disappear altogether. It seems impossible to me that they can move so slowly, yet still go so far.
When things feel craziest and most out of control in my life, I find that it helps tremendously to give myself permission to ignore the clock. Almost any task can become pleasant if I don’t feel obligated to rush while doing it. I put on my MP3 player tuned to an interesting audiobook, or some favorite lively music, and I take my time as I clean house, garden or walk. I might not accomplish as much as I would if I pushed myself harder, but I feel happy and contented when I allow myself to go slowly.
Lose sight of the shore
View from our cabin on the Diamond Princess, her maiden voyage 2004
“One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” — André Gide
To live a life of faith, we must be willing to relinquish the illusion of control. This does not imply being imprudent or foolhardy, but it does suggest that our vision is limited at best. Putting our trust in what we cannot see may feel risky at first, but living a reactive, fearful life is ultimately the more dangerous course. If we sacrifice our freedom to a false sense of security, we will likely end up neither free nor safe.
Another step toward simplicity
“Still another step toward simplicity is to refuse to live beyond our means emotionally. In a culture where whirl is king, we must understand our emotional limits.”
— Richard J. Foster
Even positive emotions can become overwhelming. Solitude, meditation or prayer are powerful allies in our struggle to remain balanced amid the tumult of stirring events that seem to come at us with ever-greater intensity. For some of us, we may need to step away, at least temporarily, from daily habits that play havoc with our emotions, whether those habits involve televised or printed news, demanding people, or crowded, boisterous gatherings. Winter is a time well suited to quiet contemplation. Let’s enjoy the calm of nature in repose, so that we can enter the springtime with renewed strength and energy.
Strangely enough
Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard 2012
“Strangely enough, this is the past that somebody in the future is longing to go back to.” — Ashleigh Brilliant
The older I get, the easier it is to romanticize the past. Of course, some memories are rightly cherished, and today we have difficulties (many of which are technology-related) that past generations did not have to worry about. But honestly taking everything into consideration, I have to admit that for every negative development I can identify about the world today, there are at least two or three advances I appreciate that were not available even thirty or forty years ago. No matter how fondly I may indulge in nostalgia, I would not want to go back to the past. These really are the good old days, at least for some of us.
Faithfulness to a small task
Point Reyes Lighthouse, Marin County, California 2004
“We are not called to save the world, solve all problems, and help all people. But we each have our own unique call, in our families, in our work, in our world…we will discover that our faithfulness to a small task is the most healing response to the illnesses of our time.” — Henri Nouwen
The lighthouse keepers of former days toiled in isolation, mostly without recognition, to save countless lives. In a similar way, we are surrounded by people whose unsung diligence contributes to the common good in ways never measured or fully known. People such as Henri Nouwen exemplify the power of obedience to a humble calling.
Because our younger son has multiple disabilities, I have become familiar with the work of L’Arche, with which Nouwen was associated. To tour a L’Arche home is to experience a renewed hope for the future of people with disabilities, and an increased faith in humanity that blooms in such communities of caring and support.
As we go about our daily responsibilities, it’s easy to lose sight of the many people who depend on our steadfast faithfulness. I hope you will be refreshed today by the understanding that your work need not be glamorous or lucrative to have genuine and lasting value.
Almost like talking
Tourists at the Library of Celsus, Ephesus 2008
“Traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries.” — source unknown; widely attributed to René Descartes
Whether the area features a landscape that goes back one century or many, whether the ruins are real or reconstructed, I always feel a keen sense of connection to what came before. All places new to me have in common a combination of the familiar and exotic, so that I am drawn in and carried away at the same time. If reading broadens the mind, travel fills in some of the details within the expanse that has been created. This year I wish for you new discoveries that will increase your understanding of the past, across the world or in your own home town.
A contribution to reality
Inside the Robert Frost farm in Derry, New Hampshire 2012
“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it.” — Dylan Thomas
I tend to think of time spent reading poetry as a luxury, and certainly it’s possible to live without it. But poems have had a place in my life that is far more practical and necessary than first seems apparent. Reading poetry can be therapeutic and cathartic; it can be an amusing distraction or a much-needed voice of understanding in a dark and lonely hour. Writing poetry hones our ability to shut out the unnecessary and pare down to essentials. It trains us to communicate effectively by packing each word and phrase with meaning. Today I invite you to set aside five minutes, or fifteen, to appreciate a poem or two. It will be time well spent. And please, feel free to add a link to one of your favorite poems in the comments.
Endlessly fascinated
Women gather outside an Istanbul mosque, 2008
“If you approach each new person you meet in a spirit of adventure, you will find yourself endlessly fascinated by the new channels of thought and experience and personality that you encounter.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Even within a single culture or location, there are no two people alike. In fact, I’ve never known any two people who were even close to being identical in personality, interests or beliefs. Given the number of people in the world, this is pretty amazing to me. And each person has a unique history and a complex, multi-faceted story. So many potential friends…so little time!
Something of the marvelous
Mendenhall Glacier, near Juneau, Alaska 2000
“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” — Aristotle
I’m not a cold weather person, but I love the beauty of snowy landscapes. From the lacy brilliance of an ice-covered branch catching sunlight, to the stark magnificence of Alaska’s glaciers, frozen water takes an endless variety of forms, each a singular masterpiece.
Color forever
A Paris market in December, 2005
“Color has taken possession of me; no longer do I have to chase after it, I know that it has hold of me forever.” — Paul Klee
In wintertime, I find it especially helpful to surround myself with color to brighten my mood. Adding color to life is easy and need not be expensive. Color-rich items such as dishes, throw pillows and magazines can be purchased for very little, but also we can add color to our lives without spending a penny. Take “field trips” online and in real time: visit photographic websites and blogs, or browse through grocery-store floral departments and specialty stores with attractive displays of items from all over the world. Let your eyes feast on color to your heart’s content. If we think of color as a sort of visual vitamin, making sure that we get our minimum daily requirement of beauty, we help to ensure ourselves against the winter blahs that can easily overtake us at this time of year.
January beckons
I took this photo at 8:20 p.m. from the front porch of our Alexandria home, January 2011
“January, the month of new beginnings and cherished memories, beckons. Come, let winter weave her wondrous spell: cold, crisp, woolen-muffler days, long dark evenings of savory suppers, lively conversations, or solitary joys. Outside the temperature drops as the snow falls softly. All of nature is at peace. We should be, too. Draw hearthside. This is the month to dream, to look forward to the year ahead and the journey within.”
— Sarah Ban Breathnach
For some of us — perhaps many of us — it would be easy to fear the coming year. Reeling from unforseen sorrows, or carrying on valiantly through months and years of hardship, we may want to avoid thinking about the future. Yet January also offers the promise of “the New Year full of things that have never been,” in Rilke‘s oft-quoted words. Whatever else we resolve today, let’s promise ourselves that we will pay attention to the good, the beautiful, the blessed and the eternal. My hope is that my photographs and words, and the words of others, will encourage all who join us here to choose joy each day. Philippians 4:4-9
Ring out the false, ring in the true
Church bells in Mykonos, Greece 2008
Verses from In Memoriam A.H.H. by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
There is not much I can add to Lord Tennyson’s eloquence. May 2013 bring you renewed hope, deep joy, and the peace that passes understanding.
Silence so deep
Our back yard in the snow, 2010
“You wake up on a winter morning and pull up the shade, and what lay there the evening before is no longer there–the sodden gray yard, the dog droppings, the tire tracks in the frozen mud, the broken lawn chair you forgot to take in last fall. All this has disappeared overnight, and what you look out on is not the snow of Narnia but the snow of home, which is no less shimmering and white as it falls. The earth is covered with it, and it is falling still in silence so deep that you can hear its silence.” ― Frederick Buechner
There is something magical about awakening to a world that looks radically different than it did when you went to sleep the night before. No matter how much trouble snow may ultimately cause, or how gray and dingy the drifts become before melting away, the first sight of an unexpected snow always takes my breath away. Perhaps the new year has something of the beauty of freshly fallen snow: a blank canvas as yet untouched, framed by familiar surroundings that wear an added sparkle.
To see takes time
“…in a way – nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time…So I said to myself – I’ll paint what I see – what the flower is to me but I’ll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it – I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers.”
— Georgia O’Keeffe
What small, unnoticed gifts will we take time to see today? How can we help others to open their eyes to unseen treasures hiding in plain sight?
Try again
Drew and his teammates after his final high school baseball game,
a close and well-played loss, June 2002
“Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” — Samuel Beckett
I have always loved this quote. It acknowledges the predominance of failure along with the crucial importance of tenacity. From the early explorers, to Abraham Lincoln, to Thomas Edison and countless other examples, world history teaches us that the ability to fail repeatedly without giving up has been the foundation on which all human progress has been built.
As we close out another year and look back on our blessings and disappointments, let’s remember that our resolutions for the coming year must be fortified by the understanding that very little, if anything, will come easily. May we all enter 2013 willing to fail better; to remain steadfast in our attempts at improvement and to be content, when necessary, with gradual steps in the right direction.
God’s furniture
Yukon territory, Canada 2000
Who has not found the heaven below
Will fail of it above.
God’s residence is next to mine,
His furniture is love.
— Emily Dickinson
Regardless of my personal circumstances (and probably even more so when times are difficult), I never feel the love of God so directly as when I am outdoors amid “His furniture.” May the year ahead bring many opportunities for us to visit with God through His creation. Romans 1:20
To select well
My beloved attic hideaway, filled with far too many old things
“To select well among old things is almost equal to inventing new ones.”
— Nicolas Charles Trublet
On the day after Christmas, many of us are sifting through our old belongings to make room for the new gifts we received the day before. But some of us have a hard time parting with things, even if we no longer need them. Learning to practice discernment about what to keep or discard can help us make use of what we already own, eliminating the overwhelmed confusion of finding and choosing among too many possessions. Today, I challenge myself (and you) to create space for new things by choosing at least five items to donate or throw away, and to start using, TODAY, at least one or two articles that you’ve been saving for someday.
Unconditional joy
A London mall at Christmas, 2005
“Joy to the world! Whether the world deserves it or not.” — Ashleigh Brilliant
Wishing you a beautiful day full of the unearned graces that can only come from above. Merry Christmas!
Joy shall be yours
A Placerville, California bed and breakfast inn, all decked out for Christmas 2003
“Villagers all, this frosty tide,
Let your doors swing open wide,
Though wind may follow, and snow beside,
Yet draw us in by your fire to bide;
Joy shall be yours in the morning!”
— Kenneth Grahame, from The Wind in the Willows
Christmas Eve has long been my favorite day of the year, but I have some dark and heavy memories associated with that day as well. Perhaps this is appropriate to the theme of “joy in the morning.” Whether your fireside tonight is real or only imagined, I hope you will pull up a chair and draw near, literally or deep in your heart, to loved ones and happy memories. I wish you an evening filled with all that is best about this season, and most of all, I wish you great joy in the morning.
You can’t buy Christmas
Christmas decorations made by our sons during their first years of school,
saved and lovingly re-used for decades. (Photo taken in 2004)
“You can’t buy Christmas: you have to make it.” — Ashleigh Brilliant
Store displays can amuse and inspire, but each Christmas is a home-made treasure. Here’s hoping that you are creating a happy one this year.
The gift not yet opened
Our Christmas tree, 2011
“The most splendid Christmas gift, the most marveled and magic, is the gift that has not yet been opened. Opaque behind wrapping or winking foil, it is a box full of possibilities…Often what precedes is better than what follows, even when, like Christmas Day, what follows is good.” — Gregg Easterbrook
As with other happy events, the anticipation that builds during the holiday season is often just as exciting (or more so) than the day itself. As the old saying goes, “getting there is half the fun.” If the stress of shopping, baking, wrapping and decorating has you undone, try slowing down long enough to actually savor the tasks themselves. Perhaps it will help if we think of the future as a gift not yet opened. Rather than focusing on what irritates or worries us, let’s enjoy the wonder of the present, and the hope for beautiful things that may lie ahead.
As if it cost a fortune
Dancing at Fezziwig’s party, at The Dickens Christmas Fair, San Francisco 2002
“He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count ’em up: what then? The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it had cost a fortune.”
—Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol
In a book filled with memorable quotes, this description of the jolly Mr. Fezziwig stands out as one of my favorites. Over the years I have often reflected on these words with respect to both my employers and those employees I have supervised. But the truth expressed here goes beyond employment, touching all our relationships with others. The power we have to brighten or darken each other’s lives is wonderful and a bit terrifying. In countless small ways, we can create happiness as great as if it cost a fortune. Let’s use this power wisely.
Every year I dream
Me in 1958, already dreaming my Christmas dream
Lyrics from the song A Christmas Dream by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice
Recorded by Perry Como
(You can listen to the song and see some beautiful Christmas photos here.)
Watch me now, here I go, all I need’s a little snow
Starts me off, sets the theme, helps me dream my Christmas dream
Every year I dream it, hoping things will change
An end to the crying, the shouting, the dying
And I hope you will dream it too
It’s Christmas, remember? We’ve got to remember
The whole world needs a Christmas dream
We need it to warm us, to calm us, to love us
To help us to dream our Christmas dream.
I fell in love with this song instantly, on first hearing a bit of it in the movie The Odessa File in 1974. I searched for a copy of it for years until I finally found it online. I have listened to it countless times, every Christmas season since. For me, it captures so many of the emotions I feel at this time every year. It’s filled with the optimistic merriment of Christmas, but acknowledges wistfully that so many things are not as they should be. I hope this song will help you dream a few dreams of your own.
Defeat Despair 